Harold Hall

Then: Harold Hall was wrongfully convicted in June of 1985 for the murder and rape of Nola Duncan and the murder of her brother David Rainey. Eighteen years old at the time, Hall describes the psychological and physical torment performed by a tag team of four Los Angeles police detectives during a 17 hour interrogation in September, 1985 in which Hall, at the age of eighteen confessed to the murders. However, there were inconsistencies with Hall’s confession and the truth surrounding this case would prevail many years later. He was given a “life” sentence in prison.

After spending more than half his life wrongly convicted and exhausting his state appeals, Hall filed a federal habeas corpus petition that was denied by a U.S. District Court. He appealed that ruling to the Federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The 9th Circuit reversed the District Court judge’s decision, and granted his writ of habeas corpus stating, “There was absolutely no physical or forensic evidence connecting Hall to the body or the alley in which it was found. The only other evidence of Hall’s guilt was his curious and largely uncorroborated confession, which was shown to contain multiple inconsistencies and inaccuracies. For the most part, the confession did not match the evidence of the crime.”

On August 20, 2004 – the Los Angeles District Attorney decided Harold Hall would not be retried. Hall was released after a motion granting the dismissal of charges. Hall gives praise to his attorney, William Genego and the people who supported him through this tragedy and unjust conviction that stole 19 years of his life.

Now: Harold has stated, "What they took from me, I can’t get back. The thing is to move forward, to enjoy what I have now." Harold works for the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Indigent Criminal Defense Appointment Program (ICDA) in Los Angeles and has moved forward with his life.

On July 24, 2006 Harold stated, "Our criminal justice system needs an overhaul. People have an attitude of indifference thinking 'wrongful conviction doesn’t apply to me' but people as a whole need to get involved because wrongful conviction and coerced testimony can happen to anyone."

Harold lives independently with continued support of family and friends.